JavaScript: The Definitive Guide
by David Flanagan
from O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Since the earliest days of Internet scripting, Web developers have considered JavaScript: The Definitive Guide an essential resource. David Flanagan's approach, which combines tutorials and examples with easy-to-use syntax guides and object references, suits the typical programmer's requirements nicely. The brand-new fourth edition of Flanagan's "Rhino Book" includes coverage of JavaScript 1.5, JScript 5.5, ECMAScript 3, and the Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 standard from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Interestingly, the author has shifted away from specifying--as he did in earlier editions--what browsers support each bit of the language. Rather than say Netscape 3.0 supports the Image object while Internet Explorer 3.0 does not, he specifies that JavaScript 1.1 and JScript 3.0 support Image. More usefully, he specifies the contents of independent standards like ECMAScript, which encourages scripters to write applications for these standards and browser vendors to support them. As Flanagan says, JavaScript and its related subjects are very complex in their pure forms. It's impossible to keep track of the differences among half a dozen vendors' generally similar implementations. Nonetheless, a lot of examples make reference to specific browsers' capabilities.
Though he does not cover server-side APIs, Flanagan has chosen to separate coverage of core JavaScript (all the keywords, general syntax, and utility objects like Array) from coverage of client-side JavaScript (which includes objects, like History and Event, that have to do with Web browsers and users' interactions with them. This approach makes this book useful to people using JavaScript for applications other than Web pages. By the way, the other classic JavaScript text--Danny Goodman's JavaScript Bible--isn't as current as this book, but it's still a fantastic (and perhaps somewhat more novice-friendly) guide to the JavaScript language and its capabilities. --David Wall
Topics covered: The JavaScript language (version 1.0 through version 1.5) and its relatives, JScript and ECMAScript, as well as the W3C DOM standards they're often used to manipulate. Tutorial sections show how to program in JavaScript, while reference sections summarize syntax and options while providing copious code examples.
This Fifth Edition is completely revised and expanded to cover JavaScript as it is used in today's Web 2.0 applications. This book is both an example-driven programmer's guide and a keep-on-your-desk reference, with new chapters that explain everything you need to know to get the most out of JavaScript, including: Scripted HTTP and Ajax XML processing Client-side graphics using the canvas tag Namespaces in JavaScript--essential when writing complex programs Classes, closures, persistence, Flash, and JavaScript embedded in Java applications
Part I explains the core JavaScript language in detail. If you are new to JavaScript, it will teach you the language. If you are already a JavaScript programmer, Part I will sharpen your skills and deepen your understanding of the language.
Part II explains the scripting environment provided by web browsers, with a focus on DOM scripting with unobtrusive JavaScript. The broad and deep coverage of client-side JavaScript is illustrated with many sophisticated examples that demonstrate how to: Generate a table of contents for an HTML document Display DHTML animations Automate form validation Draw dynamic pie charts Make HTML elements draggable Define keyboard shortcuts for web applications Create Ajax-enabled tool tips Use XPath and XSLT on XML documents loaded with Ajax And much more
Part III is a complete reference for core JavaScript. It documents every class, object, constructor, method, function, property, and constant defined by JavaScript 1.5 and ECMAScript Version 3.
Part IV is a reference for client-side JavaScript, covering legacy web browser APIs, the standard Level 2 DOM API, and emerging standards such as the XMLHttpRequestobject and the canvas tag.
More than 300,000 JavaScript programmers around the world have made this their indispensable reference book for building JavaScript applications.
""A must-have reference for expert JavaScript programmers...well-organized and detailed."" -- Brendan Eich, creator of JavaScript
JavaScript: The Good Parts
by Douglas Crockford
from O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Most programming languages contain good and bad parts, but JavaScript has more than its share of the bad, having been developed and released in a hurry before it could be refined. This authoritative book scrapes away these bad features to reveal a subset of JavaScript that's more reliable, readable, and maintainable than the language as a whole-a subset you can use to create truly extensible and efficient code. Considered the JavaScript expert by many people in the development community, author Douglas Crockford identifies the abundance of good ideas that make JavaScript an outstanding object-oriented programming language-ideas such as functions, loose typing, dynamic objects, and an expressive object literal notation. Unfortunately, these good ideas are mixed in with bad and downright awful ideas, like a programming model based on global variables. When Java applets failed, JavaScript became the language of the Web by default, making its popularity almost completely independent of its qualities as a programming language. In JavaScript: The Good Parts, Crockford finally digs through the steaming pile of good intentions and blunders to give you a detailed look at all the genuinely elegant parts of JavaScript, including: Syntax Objects Functions Inheritance Arrays Regular expressions Methods Style Beautiful features
The real beauty? As you move ahead with the subset of JavaScript that this book presents, you'll also sidestep the need to unlearn all the bad parts. Of course, if you want to find out more about the bad parts and how to use them badly, simply consult any other JavaScript book. With JavaScript: The Good Parts, you'll discover a beautiful, elegant, lightweight and highlyexpressive language that lets you create effective code, whether you're managing object libraries or just trying to get Ajax to run fast. If you develop sites or applications for the Web, this book is an absolute must.
Learning jQuery: Better Interaction Design and Web Development with Simple JavaScript Techniques
by Karl Swedberg
from Packt Publishing
jQuery is a powerful JavaScript library that can enhance your websites regardless of your background.
For designers, jQuery leverages existing CSS and HTML skills, allowing you to dynamically find and change any aspect of a page.This book provides a gentle introduction to jQuery concepts, allowing you to add interactions and animations to your pages - even if previous attempts at writing JavaScript have left you baffled.
For programmers, jQuery offers an open -source, standards-compliant, unobtrusive approach to writing complex JavaScript applications. This book will guide you past the pitfalls associated with AJAX, events, effects, and advanced JavaScript language features.
This book has a companion title, jQuery Reference Guide: A Comprehensive Exploration of the Popular JavaScript Library.
The Perfect Companion: jQuery Reference Guide: dig deeper into the library and go you through the syntax, specifications, and follow up with a detailed discussion. This book offers an organized menu of every jQuery method, function, and selector. Entries are accompanied by detailed descriptions and helpful recipes that will assist you in getting the most out of jQuery. You'll discover the untapped possibilities that jQuery makes available, and hone your skills as you return to this guide time and again.
Stop scratching your head, and start improving your web applications with jQuery and JavaScript!
Head First JavaScript (Head First)
by Michael Morrison
from O'Reilly Media, Inc.
So you're ready to make the leap from writing HTML and CSS web pages to creating dynamic web applications. You want to take your web skills to the next level. And you're finally ready to add "programmer" to the resume. It sounds like you're ready to learn the Web's hottest programming language: JavaScript. Head First JavaScript is your ticket to going beyond copying and pasting the code from someone else's web site, and writing your own interactive web pages.
With Head First JavaScript, you learn:
- The basics of programming, from variables to types to looping
- How the web browser runs your code, and how you can talk to the browser with your code
- Why you'll never have to worry about casting, overloading, or polymorphism when you're writing JavaScript code
- How to use the Document Object Model to change your web pages without making your users click buttons
Don't be intimidated if you've never written a line of code before! In typical Head First style, Head First JavaScript doesn't skip steps, and we're not interested in having you cut and paste code. You'll learn JavaScript, understand it, and have a blast along the way. So get ready... dynamic and exciting web pages are just pages away.
JavaScript: The Missing Manual
by David McFarland
from Pogue Press
JavaScript is essential for creating modern, interactive Web sites. But, unlike HTML and CSS, JavaScript is a true programming language with complex rules that are challenging for most Web designers to learn. In JavaScript: The Missing Manual, bestselling author David McFarland teaches you how to use JavaScript in sophisticated ways -- even if you have little or no programming experience. In a clear, entertaining way, the book starts out by teaching you how to build a basic JavaScript program. Then, once you've mastered the structure and terminology, you'll learn how to use advanced JavaScript tools to add useful interactivity to your sites quickly and painlessly, rather than scripting everything from scratch. To jump-start your progress, the book offers several "living examples" -- step-by-step tutorials for building Web site components with JavaScript using raw materials, such as graphics and half-completed Web pages, that you can download from the book's companion Web site. In this book, you will learn: How to get started. The book introduces the building blocks of JavaScript, and general tips on computer programming. Learn to add scripts to a Web page; store and manipulate information; communicate with the browser window; respond to events like mouse clicks and form submissions; and identify and modify HTML. How to build Web Page Features. McFarland provides real-world examples of JavaScript in action. Learn to create pop-up navigation bars, enhance HTML tables, build an interactive photo gallery, and make Web forms more usable. Create interesting user interfaces with tabbed panels, accordion panels and pop-up dialog boxes. How to troubleshoot and debug. The book will teach you howto avoid the ten most common errors new programmers make, and how to find and fix bugs. How to communicate with the Web server. In addition to basic JavaScript, this manual covers Ajax, the approach that made JavaScript glamorous. Learn to use JavaScript to communicate with a server so that your Web pages can receive information without having to reload.
If you want to put JavaScript to work right away without getting tangled up in code, JavaScript: The Missing Manual is the best book available.
Pro JavaScript Techniques (Pro)
by John Resig
from Apress
Pro JavaScript Techniques is the ultimate JavaScript book for the modern web developer. It provides everything you need to know about modern JavaScript, and shows what JavaScript can do for your web sites. This book doesnt waste any time looking at things you already know, like basic syntax and structures.
Expert web developer and author John Resig concentrates on fundamental, vital topicswhat modern JavaScripting is (and isnt), the current state of browser support, and pitfalls to be wary of. The book is organized into four sections:
- Modern JavaScript developmentusing JavaScript the object-oriented way, creating reusable code, plus testing and debugging
- DOM scriptingupdating content and styles, plus events, and effect and event libraries
- Ajaxhow Ajax works, overcoming problems, and using libraries to speed up development of Ajax applications
- The future of JavaScriptlooking at cutting edge topics like JSON, HTML 5, and more
All concepts are backed up by real-world examples and case studies, and John provides numerous reusable functions and classes to save you time in your development. There are also up-to-date reference appendixes for the DOM, events, browser support (including IE7), and frameworksso you can look up specific details quickly and easily.
Mastering Dojo: JavaScript and Ajax Tools for Great Web Experiences (Pragmatic Programmers)
by Craig Riecke
from Pragmatic Bookshelf
The last couple of years have seen big changes in server-side web programming. Now it's the client's turn; Dojo is the toolkit to make it happen and Mastering Dojo shows you how.
Dojo is a set of client-side JavaScript tools that help you build better web applications. Dojo blurs the line between local, native applications and browser based applications; the browser becomes the user interface platform. "Modern" browsers provide an incomplete, inconvenient, and incompatible programming environment, but Dojo eliminates these problems. While there are many JavaScript libraries available, most focus on just one thing (for example, effects libraries, perceived JavaScript omissions, or HTML widgets). Dojo addresses all of these functional areas-and many others-extensively.
In Mastering Dojo, you'll get the whole story, from basic usage to advanced idioms. Mastering Dojo starts out with a fast moving tutorial that will give you techniques that you can start using right away. You'll learn all about Dojo Core--the foundation on which all things Dojo stand. See how you can modularize your project for development and automatically package your release for optimal download performance. You'll also learn how Dojo:
You'll love using Dojo's HTML user interface control widget system, Dijit. See how to use over 40 widgets, including the rich yet easy-to-use tree and grid controls.
Finally, you'll get an in-depth look at how to design and build a single-page, rich Internet Application.
DOM Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model
by Jeremy Keith
from friends of ED
We know from the success of titles such as Web Standards Solutions, Cascading Style Sheets: Separating Content from Presentation, and the Web Designer's Reference that web designers are increasingly concerned with making sites that don't just look pretty, but are also built using current best practices. There are three main technologies married together to create usable, standards-compliant web designs: XHTML for data structure, Cascading Style Sheets for styling your data, and JavaScript for adding dynamic effects and manipulating structure on the fly using the Document Object Model. This book is about the latter of the three. DOM Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model gives you everything you need to start using JavaScript and the Document Object Model to enhance your web pages with client-side dynamic effects. Jeremy starts off by giving you a basic crash course in JavaScript and the DOM, then move on to provide you with several real world examples built up from scratch including dynamic image galleries and dynamic menus, and show you how to manipulate web page style using the CSS DOM, and create markup on the fly.
MooTools Essentials: The Official MooTools Reference for JavaScript™ and Ajax Development (Firstpress)
by Aaron Newton
from Apress
Mootools is a light, modular JavaScript framework that makes adding Ajax, animations, and interactive elements to your site a breeze. But it’s more than fancy effects and shortcuts; Mootools enhances the JavaScript language and makes writing clean, object–oriented code almost pleasant. Unlocking the power of Mootools, and therefore JavaScript, isn’t that hard, but knowing where to start can be. Mootools Essentials aims to help you accomplish that task with the following:
- Illustrations of nearly every class and function in the library
- Real–world examples of how to use them
- Written by Mootools user/contributor and Mootorial author, Aaron Newton.
You can see how Mootools makes JavaScript more powerful.
What you’ll learn
- Access the complete reference to the Mootools library.
- See how to use the library and understand how JavaScript/Mootools is different from other programming languages.
- Get step–by–step code authoring examples.
- Explore real–world examples of how to accomplish common fundamental tasks.
Who is this book for?
This firstPress book is for web developers who want to learn an easier and productive way to develop/use JavaScript and Ajax.
JavaScript: A Beginner's Guide, Second Edition
by John Pollock
from McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
Step-by-step instruction teaches beginning JavaScript programmers and Web designers to create windows, display moving text, and generate sound or other multimedia elements with ease. Uses the successful Beginner’s Guide teaching system, which countless new users have praised for giving them a solid foundation in technology.
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